Wednesday, September 24, 2008

My Top 10: Favorite Emcees

This is a tough one, but in no particular order...well maybe sorta

1. Slick Rick - His charisma is unparalleled and the greatest storyteller Hip-Hop has ever had
2. Big Daddy Kane - The prototype! He was the guy every dude wanted to be and the guy every girl wanted to be with. Unmatched versatility
3. Grand Puba - A fashion icon beyond his time. He truly embodies swagger
4. Jay-Z - Quite possibly the greatest contributor to current Hip-Hop. He is truly the ambassador, plus he mastered & redefined the conversational flow.
5. Black Thought - Rhythmically the best. Very few can control their flow as well as he does, and he does one hell of an impersonation of my favorites.
5. Nas - when he is on, he is brilliant
6. Common - Some may argue that # 5 holds the title, but I'd argue that Comm is the greatest pure poet in Hip-Hop. His transition from thought to thought is out of this world!!
7. 2Pac - no one showed as much vulnerability and touched our hearts in the way he could. He gets the award for most conviction & passion.
8. B.I.G - In 1 word; charming. In 2 words; captivating. He also laid the blueprint for commercial success
9. Ghostface - A great storyteller and the king of incoherent thoughts. Easily one of the most entertaining to just listen to.
10. Ludacris - before you get your panties in a bunch, dude is deceptively ILL. He can literally out-rhyme the best, but you would never know based on how popular he is, and how big his songs are. In 1 word; underrated!!!

It should also be noted that this list is based on "MY" current taste and is relative to time. I obviously have favorites like Eminem, Pun, Redman, & Andre that I didn't include. These are my favorites as of today. The true school crowd are so influential, they'll always be a staple but the others could change in a few months. Anyway...DEBATE!!!!!

4 comments:

Dao said...

word? luda grand puba and ghost over andre and eminem? what was the last thing grand puba put out if this is relative to time.

im not dissing your favorite emcees because i hate getting in that debate, but i just found that to be interesting.

peace,
-Dao

Vee (Scratch) said...

Do you know who I consider "hip hop" but is considered alternative that's in my current Top 10.
Saul Williams.

Lyrically he's a killer.

Flows? What???

And also a category that I'll include is integrity, something that's lacking in the genre. Saul Williams has it.

When Ludacris burst on the scene, I was finally ok that Redman was missing in action. He's definitely Top 5 when it comes to flows, delivery, etc.

. . . check out my recent post!

The Incomparable Shakespeare said...

Well Puba is on the list as a "true-schooler" who has personally influenced me. Granted, no new records to speak of, but his influence is undeniable. Kanye wanted to be what Puba was back in '92. As far as Em, he's ILL! Same with Mr.3000, but my list consist of dudes getting rotation right now.

The Incomparable Shakespeare said...

Saul Williams is definitely ILL!